Topic 8: Trolling/Cyberbullying

Few people will deny that the Internet represents maximum potential with maximum convenience. With just the touch of a button, this technological marvel gives people the opportunity to demonstrate their full productive potential. Unfortunately, despite all the productivity that the Internet allows, and encourages, people to achieve, the Internet is not without its generous share of ne’er-do-wells. Rather than using the Internet for constructive and productive purposes, these individuals take to the Internet with more destructive and malicious intentions. This phenomenon has been given the rather appropriate names of “trolling” and “cyberbullying”.

While trolling and cyberbullying share many characteristics, there are some differences that set the two apart. Trolling refers to any online behavior that is meant to intentionally anger or frustrate someone else. The act of trolling is usually indiscriminate; the instigator simply wants to provoke as many people as possible into reacting angrily. This is not the case with cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a form of online harassment carried out against a single individual in a deliberately hostile manner, with definitively malicious intentions. Both of these acts are considered a form of bullying and can have lasting negative effects on their victims. In recent years, people have become more aware of the issues caused by trolling and cyberbullying and are beginning to take preventative action. How do you think trolling/cyberbullying affects online communication?

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2 thoughts on “Topic 8: Trolling/Cyberbullying”

Unfortunately the human race has a tendency to be destroyers and manage to ruin even the most amazing things. Cyber bullying is a horrible thing because in my opinion its easier to deal with regular bullies do to the option of fighting back but now with the digital bullying the victim cant even defend themselves anymore.

The biggest problem with online harassment is the anonymity. Many social websites allow people to anonymously post comments, because of this, it is very hard to determine who is responsible, and punish them. This gives people a feeling of invulnerability, which can lead to them being even more caustic then they might normally be. It also tends to be harder to police these kind of forums, which means these incidents go unhandled, and can lead to very negative outcomes, and teaches people they don’t have to worry about the consequences of their actions, which leads to them continuing to do it.